Separating production and test environments is an important step in software development to ensure that changes are thoroughly tested before being deployed to the live environment. One way to achieve this separation is by using Git, a popular version control system. Here are the steps involved in separating production and test environments using Git:
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Create a separate branch for testing: The first step is to create a separate branch in the Git repository for testing. This branch should be used exclusively for testing and should not be merged with the production branch until changes have been thoroughly tested and approved.
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Set up testing environment: The next step is to set up a separate testing environment that mirrors the production environment. This environment should have its own database, web server, and any other necessary components.
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Develop and test changes: With the testing environment set up and the testing branch created, developers can begin developing and testing changes in the testing environment. Any changes should be committed to the testing branch in Git.
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Merge changes into production branch: Once changes have been thoroughly tested and approved, they can be merged into the production branch in Git. This will trigger a deployment of the changes to the live environment.
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Roll back changes if necessary: If any issues arise during the deployment of changes to the live environment, the changes can be rolled back by reverting the merge commit in Git.